Aerial-cable hoister and conveyer.



J. L. POTTER. AERIAL CABLE HOISTER AND GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1911.

Patented Feb.2( 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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J. L. POTTER. AERIAL CABLE HOISTER AND GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1911.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IJVVENTOR. {52M WITNESSES.-

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH I. POTTER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

AERIAL-CABLE HOISTER AND CONVEYER. v

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. POTTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Aerial-Cable Hoister and Conveyer, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings and to the letters and figures of reference markedthereon.

This invention relates to movable apparatus adapted for hoisting andconveying and adaptable for excavating and conveying operations, theinvention having reference particularly to apparatus of theabove-mentioned character that is designed to be shipped knock-clown andto be readily set up for use wherever required.

The object of the invention primarily is to provide improved hoistingand conveying apparatus that will be adapted to be moved as the workprogresses and capable of conveying the earth from trenches relativelylong distances and dumping the earth backinto the trenches; a furtherobject being to provide apparatus of the above-mentioned character thatwill be adapted to be constructed atrelatively small cost and in acompact and substantial manner, and which will be durable and economicalin use, minor objects being apparent from a perusal of the descriptionof the invention.

The invention comprises essentially two frames provided with wheels toconstitute cars, each car having a tower mounted thereon, means forlooking or anchoring the cars to prevent movement thereof duringoperations, an overhead or aerial cable supported by the towers, and acarrier having wheels mounted movably on the cable; and the inventionconsists further in the novel parts, and in the combinations andarrangements of parts, as hereinafter particularly described andclaimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvedhoister and conveyer adapted for excavating and filling sewer trenches;Fig. 2, a top plan of the improved apparatus; Fig. 3, a verticalsectional elevation on the line A A in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a fragmentarysectionalelevation on the line B B in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a verticalsectional elevation on the line C C in Fig. 1; and Fig. 6, a fragmentarysectional elevation on the line D D in Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters throughout Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 15, 1911.

Patented Feb.- 20, 1912.

Serial No. 621,226.

the different figures of the drawings indicate corresponding elements orfeatures of construction herein referred to.

In practically carrying out the objects of the invention a suitablerectangular car frame 1 to constitute a part of a head frame or car isprovided and its normally rear end is mounted on a pair of wheels 2 and2 having toothed wheels 3 and 3 thereon or so connected that both mustmove together, the toothed wheels preferably being of the spurtoothtype. The forward end of the frame is mounted on similar carrying wheels4, and preferably additional wheels A support the middle portion of thecar frame. The frame has a floor 5 built thereon which, preferably, doesnot extend entirely to the rear end of the frame. Two locking dogs 6 and6 are mountedon the opposite side portions of the rear end of the frameand normally engage the toothed wheels 3 and 3", respectively, forpreventing movement of the car, the dogs being so mounted that they maybe disconnected from the toothed wheels to permit the car to move. Thecarrying wheels of the car are preferably flanged, and when the car issetup for operation the wheels are supported and guided on rails 7 and 7arranged at opposite sides of the plane in which the excavating is to bedone, the rails usually resting upon stringers 8 and 8. A suitablehoisting engine is mounted upon the forward end portion of the car frameand comprises a frame 9, engine cylinders 10 and 10', a boiler 11,

a winding drum 12 provided with a brake operating arm 13 and a windingdrum 14 provided with a brake operating arm 15. Engines of thischaracter being well known require no further description. A suitableframe is erected upon the opposite end portion of the car frame at asuitable distance from the rear end to constitute a part of the headframe or car and preferably comprises two vertical posts 16 and 16 onthe top of which a cap beam 17 is secured, a beam 18 frame thereonconstitute a unitary movable head frame or forward frame which inpractical use is moved as occasionally required in the directionindicated by arrows thereat.

A forward tower is arranged at the rear end portion of the frame 1 andis preferably supported on pivots 20 and 20 suitably mounted upon theframe adjacently to the rear side of the posts 16 and 16'. The towerpreferably comprises two standards 21 and 21 provided with journal boxes22 and 22 embracing the pivots so as to aiford conveniences forpermitting the tower to be lowered or raised. The standards are inclinedeach toward the other, and a capbeam 23 is secured to their upper ends.A beam 24 is secured to the standards and is secured to the beam 18 bymeans of bolts 25 which hold the standards against the stopblock 18.Preferably other beams 26 and 27 are secured to the standards, the towerstructure preferably having cross-braces 28 and 29. Two sheaves 30 and31 are mounted in the upper portion of the tower, prefer-' ably onshafts 32 and 33 mounted on the standards. A saddle 34 is mounted on thetop and another saddle 35 is mounted on the rear side of the cap beam23, the saddles being on the middle portion of the beam and preferablyare formed on a single casting. A guy rope or cable 36 is seated at itsmiddle portion in the saddle 35, and its end portions are secured to theforward end portion of the frame 1, or if desired may extend forwardlyas indicated by dotted lines in. Fig. 1, so that it may be anchored tothe ground beyond the movable forward frame, the latter arrangementbeing desirable in some cases if the towers or masts are spaced apart anextremely great distance. The forward tower may readily be detached fromthe forward frame after disconnecting the cable 36 from its anchorageand removing the bolts 25 to permit the tower to be lowered to theground.

An open base rearward or tail frame is provided which preferablycomprises two sills 37 and 38, preferably of compound construction, andthe forward ends thereof are mounted on carrying wheels 39 and 39provided with toothed wheels 40 and 40 connected thereto so that eachcarrying wheel and a toothed wheel must move together, the rear endportions of the sills being mounted on carrying wheels 41 and 41. Thecarrying wheels are preferably flanged, so as to be guided on the rails7 and 7 Dogs 42 and 42" are mounted movably on the sills so as tonormally engage the toothed wheels 40 and 40 removably. A post 43 issecured upon the sill 37 some what rearward of the forward end thereof,and a post 43 is secured upon the rear end portion of the sill, similarposts 44 and 44 being similarly secured upon the sill 38.

A rectangular top frame comprising beams 45 and 45' extendinglongitudinally, and transverse beams 46 and 46 extending transverselyare secured to the upper ends of the four posts. A diagonal brace 47 issecured to the upper portion of the post 43 and to the lower portion ofthe post 43, a similar brace 47 being likewise connected to the posts 44and 44. A beam 48 is secured to the rear side of the upper portions ofthe posts 43 and 44, and a stop block 49 is secured to the forward sideof the posts at the upper portion thereof. It will be seen from theforegoing that there is clear space between the two sills of the rear ortail frame and from the ground up to the beam 48, so that the frame mayspan the trench and also span the ridge of earth resulting after fillingthe trench. Suitable provision is made for loading the rear end of therear or tail frame, and preferably two beams 50 and 50 are placed uponthe beams 45 and 45 and support a box 51 in which a suitable number ofweights as 52, 52 are placed, any suitable character of weightingmaterial obviously being permissible. An open base rear tower isprovided which is some what similar to the other tower and preferably issupported upon pivots 53 and 53 mounted on the forward end portions ofthe two sills, the tower preferably comprising two standards 54 and 54provided with journal boxes 55 and 55 embracing the pivots detachably,the standards converging upwardly and having a cap-beam 56 secured tothe upper ends thereof. A beam 57 is secured to the standards oppositethe beam 48 and is secured thereto by means of bolts 58 and 58 so thatthe standards are held tightly against the stop block 49. Horizontalbeams 59 and 60 are secured to the upper portions of the standards, andpreferably the tower is braced by means of crossed rods 61 and 62. Asaddle 63 is mounted upon the beam 56, and another saddle 64 is mountedon the forward side'o'l. the beam, the two saddles preferably beingformed as a single casting. A guy rope or cable 65 is seated at itsmiddle portion in the saddle 64 and its ends are secured to the rearupward portion of the rear or tail frame, or as illustrated by brokenlines in Fig. 1 it may extend outward beyond the rear frame to beanchored to the ground. A sheave 66 is mounted in the upper portion ofthe rear tower preferably on a shaft 67 supported by the standards 54and 54. It will be seen from the foregoing that the rear or tail framemay be moved to a suitable or desired position and then locked againstmovement by means of the dogs 42 and 42.

A cable 68 is seated in the saddle 34 and also in the saddle 63, one endportion 68 of the cable being brought down alongside of one of thestandards of the forward tower 73 mounted thereon and also a pair ofsheaves 74 and 75 mounted on the lower portion of the frame. A pulleyblock 76 is em-; ployed which is provided with a hook 77. Any suitableexcavating implement or hoisting device may be connected to the hook, in

the present case a scooping bucket 78 provided with a bail 79 beingshown for the purpose of illustration of the invention, the:

bail being connected to the hook. The

pulley-block has a suitable pulley 80 mount-' ed therein. A cable 81 isconnected with the windingdrum 12 and extends over the sheave 30, thenceover the guide-pulleys 72 and 73 and around the sheave 66, thence overthe sheave 75, around the sheave 80 and thence over the sheave 74 andconnected at} Another. cable 82 is connected to the winding drum 14 andextends over the sheave 31 to the; frame 70 to which it is connected.Then the winding drum 12 is operated it is evi-l dent that the carriermay be drawn toward the rear tower if the winding drum H bev allowed torun loose, or if prevented from; turning the load may be lifted. If thewind-i ing drum let be operated the cable 82 will; draw the carriertoward the forward tower In practical use the two towers are ar-f rangedoppositely each to the other at a suitits end to the pulley block 76.

able distance apart, and the distance may be varied as occasion mayrequire by merely 'readjusting the cable 68 and moving one or the otherof the movable frames. The excavating and the sewer construction workmay be accomplished conveniently between the two towers, the earth beingusually removed near the forward tower and then conveyed and dumped uponthe finished work near the rear tower, the earth being piled up to forma ridge which may be passed over by the rearward tower and itssupporting frame. In some cases the excavating implement may require'tobe worked rearward of the rear tower below its supporting frame anddragged forwardly, which operations may be conveniently performed withthe present construction. It will be understood that the movements ofthe hoisting or excavating implement are quickly controlled by theoperator at the hoisting engine.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is-

1. An aerial cable machine including two independently movable frameshaving each a tower removably mounted thereon, one of the frames having'also a winding-drum thereon, a cable extending from one to the otherone of the towers, a carrier movably mounted on the cable, and a cableconnected with the winding-drum and the carrier.

2. An aerial cable conveyer including two movable frames, one of theframes having a forward tower and also a winding-drum mounted thereon,the other one of the frames having a rearward tower mounted thereon,means for fixedly holding the frames relatively one to another, a cableextending from one to the other one of the towers, a sheave mounted onthe forward tower, a carrier movably mounted on the cable, and a cableconnected to the carrier and extending overthe sheave to thewinding-drum.

3. An aerial cable machine including a head frame provided with carryingwheels, one of the wheels, being provided with a toothed wheel, a dogmounted on the frame and normally engaging the toothed wheel, a towersecured detachably to the head frame on one end portion thereof, ahoisting engine mounted'on the opposite end portion of the head frame,acable connected to the tower, another tower partially supporting thecable, a carrier movable on the cable, operating cables connected withthe hoisting engine and the carrier, and guide sheaves on the towers forthe operating cables.

4. An aerial cable machine including two movable frames, two towersremovably mounted on the two frames respectively, a

cable removably mounted on the two towers, a carrier movably mounted on'the cable, a hoisting engine mounted on one of the frames, operatingcables connected to the hoisting engine and operatively connected withthe carrier, one of the cables being adapted for hoisting, sheaves onthe towers guiding the operating cables, a cable secured to one of theframes and connected to the tower thereon, and a cable secured totheother one of the frames and connected to the tower thereon.

5. An aerial cable machine including a horizontal frame, wheelssupporting the frame, two of the wheels being at one end portion of theframe and having each a toothed wheel connected thereto, dogs mountedmovably on the frame to or from the toothed wheels, an upright framefixedly mounted upon the horizontal frame, a tower supported on thehorizontal frame and secured detachably to the upright frame, anoppositely arranged movable tower, acable supported upon the two towers,a carrier movable on the cable, and a hoisting appliance supported bythe carrier.

6. An aerial cable machine including a movable head frame, a towermounted on the head frame, a movable tail frame comprisingtwo sills,four posts secured upon the sills, two posts to each sill, a rectangulartop frame secured to the tops of all the posts, and a beam securedhorizontally to two of the posts on different sills; a tower comprisingtwo standards removably mounted on the two sills respectively, ahorizontal beam secured to the standards, and diagonal braces connectedto the standards; bolts connecting the horizontal beam of the tower tothe frame beam, a cable supported on the two towers, and a carriermovable on the cable.

7. An aerial cable hoisting and conveying machine including a movablehead frame, a movable tail frame, a tower pivotally sup ported on oneend portion of the head frame and detachably secured to the upperportion thereof, a hoisting engine mounted on the opposite end portionof the head frame, a tower pivotally supported on one end portion of thetail frame and secured detachably to the upper portion thereof, anoverhead cable supported upon the two towers, each end of the cablebeing detachably anchored, a guy cable connected to the head frame andalso to the tower thereon, a guy cable connected to the tail frame andalso to the tower thereon, a carrier movable on the overhead cable, ahoisting appliance supported by the carrier, and weights on the tailframe.

8. An aerial cable hoister and conveyer including two movably supportedframes, one of the frames having a forward tower and also a plurality ofwindingdrums mounted thereon, the other one of the frames having arearward tower mounted thereon, a cable extending from one to the otherone of the towers, a carrier mounted movably on the cable, a sheavemounted on the carrier, a tail sheave mounted on the rearward tower, twosheaves mounted on the forward tower, a cable connected to one of thewinding-drums and extending over one of the two sheaves to the carrierand connected thereto, a pulley block, and a cable connected to theother one of the winding-drums and extending over the other one of thetwo sheaves to and about the tail sheave and thence over the sheave thatis on the carrier to the pulley block and connected therewith.

9. In an aerial cable hoisting and conveying machine, the combination ofa head frame, a plurality of wheels supporting the frame, a toothedwheel connected to one of the wheels, a dog movably mounted on the headframe and normally engaging the toothed wheel, a hoisting engine mountedon one end portion of the frame, a tower supported removably on theopposite end portion of the frame, a; tail frame, a plurality of wheelssupporting the tail frame, a cable supported on the towers, a carriermovable on the cable, and cables operatively connected with the hoistingengine and the carrier.

10. In an aerial cable hoisting and conveying machine, the combinationwith a movable head frame, and a tower mounted on the head frame, of atail frame comprising two sills, each sill having'two supporting wheels,a toothed wheel connected to one of said wheels, a dog movably mountedon one of said sills and normally engaging the toothed wheel, an openframe spanning space between the two sills and having opposite sideparts secured to the sills, a tower supported on the two sills adjacentthe open frame and secured to the latter, a cable supported upon the twotowers, and a carrier movable on the cable.

11. In an aerial hoisting and conveying machine, the combination with amovable head frame, a tower and a winding-drum mounted on the headframe, and a sheave mounted on the tower, of a tail frame provided withcarrying wheels, one of the carrying wheels having a toothed wheelconnected substantially therewith, a dog mount-I ed on the tail frameand normally engaging, the toothed wheel, a tower mounted on the tailframe, a cable supported on the towers, a carrier movable on the cable,and a cable operatively connected with the windingdrum and the carrierand extending over the sheave.

12. In an aerial cable hoisting and conveying machine, the combinationwith a movable head frame, and a tower mounted on the head frame, of anopen base tail frame, wheels supporting the tail frame, an open basetower mounted on the base portions of the tail frame in proximity to twoof the wheels and secured to the upper por tion of the tail frame, acable supported on the towers, a carrier movable on the cable, and ahoisting or conveying device supported by the carrier.

13. In an aerial cable hoisting and conveying machine, the combinationwith a movable head frame, and a tower mounted on the head frame, of amovable open base tail frame having a tower mounted thereon opposite thetower on the head frame, a cable supported on the towers, a carriermovable on the cable, and a device supported by the carrier adapted forhoisting or conveying. i

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH L. POTTER.

Witnesses:

P. A. HAvELIcK, E. T. SILvIUs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

